


It's Forever Dearie

by thecompletebookworm



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2015, basically I wanted Bae really really badly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 03:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5481734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecompletebookworm/pseuds/thecompletebookworm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle accidentally calls the Dark One and gets more than she bargained for when she arrives at the Dark Castle and meets his young son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Forever Dearie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WizzyGold](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WizzyGold/gifts).



> A gift for the wonderful wizzygold, who prompted: “spinning, dark castle, mice, fluff,”

Often in war, you expect a brutal end to everything. But more often than not, it was the little things that just added up that made great generals throw in the towel. While the ogres had killed countless, including Lady Colette, it was the lack of supplies that forced Belle into the library, desperate for an answer.  

The little town of Avonlea was now cut off from basically every trade route.  There was only one road that could be managed by a heavily guarded battalion and that was through the Copper Mountain Pass, a route that would be too treacherous to pass in the winter.  She sighed as she closed another rather unhelpful book.  As great as being able to turn into a bird and fly away sounded, it wouldn't save everyone.

Her father's plan, to marry her off to Gaston, so that at least she would be safe and far away from here, was an awful selfish one. There was no point of being safe if everyone else was dead.  Belle glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being watched too carefully by the guards there to protect her in case of a surprise attack. She needn't have bothered. The poor men were ragged from too many battles with not enough food. She'd tried to dismiss them to get some proper rest, but her father insisted, claiming that she was the only way they'd be able to secure the alliance to Gaston's kingdom and needed protecting. Now, the two young men were practically asleep at their posts, so it wasn't like they were truly protecting anyone.

Belle tiptoed to the back of the library and pushed the golden tapestry to the side.  Her hands tapped around the smooth wooden surface.  She listened for the hollow sounding response, a secret compartment in a wall hidden behind a tapestry that hid nothing but a storybook.   It seemed mad. The little book was old and worn, its brown cover fraying, the pictures fading.  It didn't look like anything exceptional.  Still there had to be a reason it was hidden away, a reason her mother had screeched and yanked the tapestry shut when Belle found it for the first time.  It was dangerous.

She stroked the spine lovingly, praying to all the gods, or anyone that might be listening, that she would finally get some answers. Belle wasn't sure where to begin or even that the book would be understandable. She had only gotten a single glance.   Stashing the book beneath her skirt, Belle left the library determined to look at the book in her chambers or at least somewhere with more privacy.

* * *

 

Belle shut the door carefully, sliding down in front of it before pulling out the book.  She flipped the book open to a random page, too fed up with research and disappointment right now to do this in an organized manner.  She landed on a picture of an odd looking man. He had the weirdest skin; it had a greenish sparkle to it. In the illustration, he stood pleadingly next to a boy about half his height.

Belle ran her finger over the caption: "Rumplestiltskin after successfully stopping his son from going through the portal."   It was just as odd as the man. She knew she should probably go back and actually read the story to try and figure it out. Instead she sat there trying to figure out why that name was so familiar, and why it would be important enough to be so hidden away. 

Belle muttered, "Rumplestiltskin," under her breath as she sat there trying to figure out why that name was so familiar, and why it would be important enough to be so hidden away.

"You called Dearie?"

Belle lurched off her spot on the ground. The man from the illustration was now standing in front of her with a predatory grin on his face.  "I'm not sure what you mean."   

"You were looking for the Dark One. You need a Deal. It doesn't seem to me that just anyone would call me for anything else.  Especially, one as desperate as yourself."   The man's hand gestures got increasingly elaborate as he took a few steps closer to her.  

Belle's nursemaids had told her stories of the Dark One, but she had always thought of him just as an entity to keep small children from doing naughty things.  He wasn't shrouded in black or dripped in blood.  Instead, Rumplestiltskin with smartly dressed in leather and deep red fabrics that seemed to have pure gold seams.  He looked like a handsome person with a skin condition, not the devil incarnate.   

"What sort of deal?"

"While that depends on you Dearie?" He gave her a half smile, "What do you want?"

"Could you end a war?"   

"The cost would be high. Magic always has a price and that would include big magic."

"But my family, my friends, they’d all live. I'm not sure how I can pay you. We don't have much more gold." 

"Gold would never work.   I make gold." He wrapped his fingers around her hand. His touch was soft, almost too light to feel. "The cost would be you.   You'd have to come with me. It's forever, Dearie."

Belle blushed.  "I'm not sure that-"

He let out a chuckle that sounded almost human. "You wouldn't be filling my bed.  I am no man.  I simply need a caretaker and a tutor." 

"For your son?"  She asked without even thinking, her mind going back to the book.

He snatched the book from her and it disappeared as soon as it was in his hands. "That is none of your concern." He seemed to change back from the man to a beast in a second." 

"I'm sorry.  I didn't mean." Belle said sheepishly. 

"Do we have a deal?"  

"My life for the lives of my friends and family. I think that's more than fair." She repositioned their hands to shake on it.   "Would you allow me time to say goodbye to my Papa and gather some things.   

"You have five minutes."   

* * *

 

Saying goodbye to her Papa was one of the hardest things she'd ever done.   But she had some how managed to hold back her tears until after she was standing arm in arm with the Dark One outside his castle.  Belle had stayed strong enough when in the view of the people she loved, but now she had no one.  

She could hear the scampering of feet as she wiped away her tears, hoping that she had been quick enough to hide her shame.  

 "Papa!"  A little boy shouted as he darted down the garden path. "I Missed You THIS Much!" He spread out his arms as far apart as they could go.

 The strange man smiled.  "Well, Bae, I missed you this Much!" He spread his arms out too; they were easily a lot larger than the child's. 

 "That's not fair you're bigger than me. So, I missed you a hundred thousand gillion times that amount." 

 "I've never heard of a gillion Bae."

 "That's because it's a very special number! It means more than any other number!"  

The boy hadn't paid any attention to her yet, but his smile calmed her down a little.  So, Belle offered,  "Gillions are very special number indeed.  I don't think I knew about gillions until I was much older than you are. You must be very smart."

"Who's she?" Even though, he looked much smaller than the boy in the illustration, about five instead of fifteen, it certainly looked like the same boy.  There was that same look of uncertainty.  "Papa what did you do now?" 

"This is..." Rumplestiltskin trailed off at the sudden realization that he didn't actually know her name.

"I'm Belle." She knelt down next to him and offered her hand.  "I'm going to be helping around the house a little bit.  Teaching you and probably learning too based on how smart you are."

The boy took the hand readily. "I'm Baelfire. But Papa only calls me that when I'm in trouble. Everyone just calls me Bae. Are you staying a long time?  I hope you're staying a long time.  I mean Papa is great and Jefferson is fine, but sometimes Grace comes with him and she's a girl. Not like a girl like you. She's a toddler and she's boring and she grabs my hair sometimes, but I can't do anything 'cause she's so little." He said this all very quickly and very fast. It was lucky Belle was able to catch it at all.

"I'm staying Forever, Bae."   She had winced at those harsh words before. But now, between the strange dark one who was far more human than beast and his talkative little son, Belle almost didn't mind forever. Definitely better than marrying Gaston anyway, even if it wasn't the adventure she was thinking of.

Bae tried to help her lift her trunk. Belle was doing most of the actual lifting, but he still wanted to help as they started moving inside the castle. "Did you bring any books?"

"I've brought a few.  A lot of books makes my bag hard to carry."

"Oh and it's already really heavy." Bae thought that over.  "Well I guess you can share my books and Papa's too if he's in a good mood and you don't misbehave."   The words seemed to come from experience

"Bae!  That's enough. Why don't you run inside and tell Jefferson he can go home."

Rumplestiltskin looked absolutely mortified and nothing at all like the kidnapper or demon of the old wise tale's Belle knew. A deep red blush was trying to peak past his scaly skin.   He raised his hand sheepishly and her trunk disappeared. Belle smiled and bit her lip. She thought that her life had definitely taken a turn for the better.

* * *

 Belle's time seemed to fly in that Dark Castle. Sure there was the occasional visitor, but most of the time it was just the three of them.  After her one disastrous attempt at breakfast, Rumplestiltskin took over most of the cooking. She was rather good at making tea and Bae taught her how to make tea cakes, although there was more batter on their faces and the counters than actually in finished goodies.

Most days were spent calmly sitting in a cozy room with a spinning wheel.   Belle sat with Bae on the sofa with a book or a chalk tablet spread across their laps and Rumplestiltskin sat at the spinning wheel.  Often when Bae was copying his letters or solving an arithmetic problem, Belle would just watch Rumplestiltskin sit at his wheel and spin. The man looked so calm, with that knowing little smile across his face.   His hands caressed the newly spun gold as he gently lowered it to the floor. There was something soothing about just watching him. 

Of course, Belle would look away if he even glanced in her direction.  It was impolite to stare after all.   But she could never completely keep the blush off her face, as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face and gently correct Bae's backwards "S".  

Their days were sweet and comforting, repetitive but not overly so.  Everyday, Rumplestiltskin would surprise her with another whispered joke or a story of his own for Bae. There were times in the night when it was so peaceful.  Bae would be quiet as a mouse, scribbling pictures in his journal, Rumplestiltskin would just be spinning thread not gold and Belle would have a book pulled open in front of her.  

After one eventful day (because falling off a ladder and staring deep into Rumplestiltskin's beautiful eyes definitely qualified as an eventful day), as Bae was scribbling away, as Rumplestiltskin was spinning, Belle was most definitely not reading. 

She was thinking about the strangeness of this castle and the wonderfulness of its inhabitants; about how the mirrors were covered, about how there was an entire room that contained thousands of journals and pictures of Bae at different ages, many of them from when he was older, how the candles always seemed to know when they needed to be lit without human intervention.  Sure, she thought some of that could just be explained by magic, but not everything.   Life had changed so much for the better since coming to the Dark Castle, but she still felt like she was missing something crucial. 

Whenever she tried to raise the subject, Rumplestiltskin would give her a sad smile and some variation of “I’m a difficult man to love” which seemed silly.  Baelfire loved him more than anyone else. His pictures of his father would be full of hearts and crowns and him overcoming dragons.    There was nothing Bae thought his Papa couldn’t do.  And Belle, well, it was hard for her to say when she fell in love with him.  It was easy effortless, coming as easily as the smiles he had for Bae.   Still she didn’t say anything, not sure if she really wanted to know, or at least if she really wanted to know now.  If he forced her to leave, it would break her heart.

After Bae was fast asleep, Belle confronted Rumplestiltskin, sitting herself right across from him at his spot on the spinning wool, taking the thread out of his hands to force him to look at her.

"Something wrong, Dearie?"

The tentative smile left her face. "Don't call me that. You only call people you don't like Dearie."  

"Who's to say I like you?"

She gave him a knowing little smirk. "Based on the smiles and jokes, I would say you did.  But if you really need a second opinion, I’m sure Bae would be on my side for him." 

"Let Bae Sleep." Rumplestiltskin tried to grab the thread out of her hands and get away from the awkward conversation.

Belle smiled, knowing she'd already won the battle. "I wouldn't want to wake him. I'm just saying in this case Bae would be on my side."

He didn't acknowledge her point but instead asked again, "Is there a reason we're having this conversation, and um a reason you're so close to me?"  She was sure the second statement wasn't meant for her ears. It was almost impossible to hear, but she heard it and so she couldn't control her giggles.

"This seemed like a much better idea in my head. More sensual, more romantic, you know,” she bit her lip, "I guess I just wanted to give myself the best opportunity to do this."

She leaned in, planting a kiss squarely on his lips. It took a second for him to respond, but then they were kissing.  Kissing in a way Belle had never thought was possible.  She could keenly feel him pressed against her, her hand in his hair, the heat lurching through her.   It was so much better than anything she'd ever read about.   Belle pulled back to make sure everything was okay with him, that she just wasn't imagining that he wanted this too.

His face was changing; the scales were receding. She jumped back in alarm, almost sprawling on the floor as her legs got entangled with his and the bench.  Belle knew he was a normal man underneath his tough exterior, but to see his brown eyes and soft skin was completely another matter.   

"What-” He stopped mid-question. Rumplestiltskin had just realized what was going on.  He paused, closed his eyes and screwed his face in concentration. Slowly, the scales came back across his face. 

 "Are you all right?" Belle's voice was timid. She didn't understand what had just happened.  "What was that?"

"True Love, the most powerful magic in the lands." 

She repeated the sentence in awe of what just happened. "So we're... but what does that mean?"  Belle knew she loved him, but to know he loved her so deeply made the smile impossible to stop.

 "According to some, True Love breaks any curse. I'm not so sure about that. My curse, the Dark Curse, is as old as magic itself.   I have no idea how it would react." 

 "But it was working, you were becoming human. That's how it would react."

 "It appeared as if I was becoming human," he gave her a sad smile.  He hated giving the distinction as much as he hated making it. "True Love isn't just for lovers but also for-"

 "Bae! Of course, you love him more than anything in the world!" 

 “Well, True Love’s Kiss doesn’t make this curse go away.  It begins separating the curse from the host.  If I let it go too far, the curse leaves my body to infect someone else, and I wouldn’t wish that hardship on anyone.” 

 “You’re a hero, Rumplestiltskin.”

 He scoffed at that.  “I’m not a hero.   I’ve done too many things to be considered a hero.” 

 “Good things from what I can tell. You save lives. You’ve raised your son to be-“

 “That’s part of the problem.  My son.  You wouldn’t even believe the horrors I’ve exposed him too and all because I’m afraid to live here alone. The curse makes it so I never age. I’m just stuck, and so I’ve made sure my son is stuck with me.” 

 "Bae is happy, loved more than anyone I know. You were a good father Rumplestiltskin.”

 “A good father?  I make his life a mess.  He grows up. He keeps journals; I take pictures to remember each time and to show him when it gets to the point where I have to de-age him again.” 

 Suddenly, the room she had found made sense. This was a desperate man bent on keeping his family together.  “Would you do that to me too?” 

 “What?”  He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. 

 “Will you de-age me too?  Can we actually have our forever?” 

 “You don’t think I’m a old beast for doing this.”

 “All I see is a man who loves so deeply, it hurts him that he has to watch his family die.  I don’t know who would want to wish that type of pain on anyone.”

 “Belle,” He said her name like a prayer as he held her face.  She leant in to his touch, wanting desperately to kiss him again, but not being sure if it was allowed.  

 “It would be forever Dearie.”

 “That’s exactly what I’m asking for.”


End file.
